The Benefits of Studying Abroad and Why You Should Do It
Studying in Ireland is a great idea. After all, despite the small number of universities, there are some of the best academic institutions in Europe. However, there are as many advantages to studying outside of Ireland as there are to studying within it.
In this article, we'll look at the advantages of studying abroad and the options you have.
The Advantages of Studying Abroad
There are plenty of reasons you should study abroad and while we won't be able to go through all of them here, we have selected some of the most important ones available to Irish students.
Career Prospects
In some cases, your period of study abroad may add to the total number of years you need to study, but other than perhaps having to study for an extra year, there aren't any professional downsides to studying abroad.
A period of study abroad will help you to stand out to potential employers. They'll understand all the other ways that studying abroad has also helped you.
Beyond being a nice thing to put on your CV, a period of studying abroad will also provide you with employment opportunities. After all, you never know who you're going to meet or the opportunities that will come from being in a different place.
Whether it's while you're studying abroad or once you get back to Ireland, studying abroad will help boost your career.
Discover Different Cultures
The Irish culture is famous all over the world, but it's not the only one. By living in a different country and discovering the culture, there'll be so many unique things that you'll get to enjoy.
There'll be a few home comforts that you might miss, and that's normal, but there are also plenty of new things you can discover. Whether it's new music, films, food, or even ways of looking at the world, you'd be surprised by just how eye-opening studying abroad can be.
It's an experience that not everybody gets to enjoy and if you have the opportunity to discover a new culture and try new things, go for it!
Learn a New Language
One of the biggest reasons students choose to study abroad is because they may have an opportunity to learn another language.
If you choose to study abroad in an English-speaking country, you won't get this opportunity, but for most study abroad options, you can go somewhere English isn't spoken.
The great thing about studying abroad to learn a foreign language is that you don't even need to necessarily be studying foreign languages or even the social sciences to do it.
Students in almost any subject can choose to study abroad and learn a new language through linguistic immersion; one of the quickest and most effective ways to learn another language.
This entire article could be on the benefits of learning a foreign language and how it's good for your mind, body, and spirit, but for the time being, we'll just say that you should learn a foreign language.
If you can do so by studying abroad, it'd be silly not to!
Networking
Studying abroad will provide you with chances to meet new people from all over the world. After all, you'll likely be part of the community of other foreign students.
Not only will you have the chance to meet students from all over the world, but you'll also be able to meet the academic staff and the university where you're studying and make important connections that could help you find work and opportunities once you've graduated.
Not all connections need to be professional, either. You'll make lifelong friends and if you're a romantic soul, you may even meet “the one”. You'd be surprised how many couples met studying abroad, after all!
New Academic Opportunities
You're probably beginning to understand that a change of scenery will give you lots of new opportunities. Even if you're studying one of the best degrees in the country, you'll still get opportunities to try new things, meet new people, and make new friends by studying abroad.
While studying abroad, you might get to attend different types of classes, cover subjects that you don't get to study back in Ireland, or simply find new academic opportunities for postgraduate study, for example.
New Perspectives
Speak to almost anybody who's studied abroad and they'll likely tell you how it changed how they think about the world.
There's something incredibly eye-opening about living in a different country, experiencing a different culture, and being in a foreign land that will change how you see the world, how you think of other people, and what it means to be human.
Much like learning a foreign language, living in another country tends to make people more empathetic and caring.
This isn't to say that you'll return from studying abroad having figured everything out or having complete inner peace or enlightenment, but you might learn a thing or two about the world and yourself.
Opportunities to Travel
Studying abroad will be your first opportunity to travel. After all, you'll have to go to where you plan on studying.
Initially, you'll get to travel to where you're studying, but from there, you can travel even further. You won't need to return to Ireland every time you want to travel and you may find yourself much closer to some of the other places around the world that you wanted to travel to.
You can explore your new country, the neighbouring countries, or even other places and continents from your new home.
Much like while back in Ireland, though, you'll have to plan these excursions before or after each semester, during public holidays, or at times when you won't have to miss any classes.
Studying is half of the study abroad experience, after all.
Personal Growth
Last but certainly not least, studying abroad will give you an opportunity for personal growth. We've already mentioned how you'll likely change how you see the world after spending time as a foreigner in another country, but you'll also learn and grow personally.
You'll likely mature, even if you spend a lot of your time being somewhat immature (it can happen to all of us), and by stepping outside of your comfort zone, you'll learn how to deal with many new challenges.
Studying abroad isn't easy. You have to leave your comfortable routines behind and go somewhere with a different culture, language, and way of doing things.
In some cases, you may have to leave all your friends behind. You'll probably still be able to keep in touch with them, but you'll have to meet new people, study new things, and have new experiences.
At the end of it, you'll be a different person. A better person.
The Different Kinds of Studying Abroad
There are a few ways of studying abroad. In some cases, you won't have much of a choice of which one you do, but for most students, there are multiple study abroad programmes or ways to spend some time abroad as part of your degree.
Erasmus
If you're already at a good university in Ireland, then the most common way to do it is via the Erasmus Programme.
In its current incarnation, Erasmus or Erasmus+ is the European Union's student exchange programme and most students from countries within the EU will likely do this.
Close to 14 million students have participated in the programme since it was first adopted in 1987. The first group of Erasmus students only included a few thousand students, but the programme now has close to 300,000 university students spending time studying abroad in other EU countries' universities.
Exchange Programmes
For universities and academic institutions outside of the EU, there are often exchange programmes in place. Your university may have agreements and study-abroad opportunities with partner institutions outside of the EU.
If you're interested in studying in North or South America, Africa, Asia, or Oceania, then it may be worthwhile speaking to someone at your university about what study-abroad options there are.
Exchange programmes outside of the EU sometimes come at a cost, but you can make things easier by looking for scholarships and bursaries.
International Students
If you're not already at university, you could always just apply to study at a university as an international student.
This means you could spend more than just one year studying abroad as you can study your entire degree in another country. This comes with all the benefits of a year of Erasmus or an exchange programme while also meaning you leave with a degree from a foreign academic institution.
This is arguably more challenging as you'll have to apply directly to a foreign university and complete your entire degree there. However, if you want to go for it and can pay for it (certain foreign institutions are incredibly expensive), then who are we to stop you?
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